Over the last several years, as the strong-arm of big-tech and corporate woke-ism have taken hold, there’s been one common refrain from the left when the right has complained of censorship: Build your own.

Whether we are talking about book publishers canceling conservative authors or social media companies banning the free distribution of verifiable news stories just because they counter the leftwing narrative (see: Hunter Biden), the complaints of those on the right have drawn jeers. “Just create your own Twitter” they screamed in response.

Well, apparently, those same lefties are now upset by the fact that conservatives are doing exactly what they told them to do.

Axios AM's lead this morning: The right's echo chamber is so much bigger than merely TV and radio. "Conservatives are building their own apps, phones, cryptocurrencies and publishing houses to circumvent the mainstream tech and media ecosystem…" https://t.co/6jVV48NdGX

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) December 6, 2021

You just knew there was going to be a Brian Stelter tweet involved, but the actual report comes from Axios. In it, someone named Sara Fischer frets loudly about the fact that right-wing media is flourishing in response to the authoritarian dictates of the left. She uses analytical examples, from right-leaning app downloads to conservative video sites, to make the point that an entire conservative ecosystem is forming and subverting the establishment.

That should be a surprise to no one. Of course a conservative ecosystem is forming. Further, it is going to be much more expansive than just right-leaning news sites and Parler. You are going to see conservatives tackle multiple aspects of the economy as the left gains more and more power within corporate America, from hosting services to banking.

Last I checked, that’s exactly what conservatives were told they’d have to do by snarling leftwingers who set out to demean anyone who dared complain of corporate America’s illiberal shift. As censorship has increased, from banks blocking legal gun sales to YouTube demonizing mainstream conservative political commentary, those on the right have set out to “build their own” just as the left demanded. This isn’t necessarily the world we wanted, but it’s the one we were handed by people with tyrannical notions of controlling speech and behavior.

So for anyone on the left to now grind their teeth over that growth in the conservative ecosystem is hilarious — and laughably hypocritical.

Libs: "Go build your own social media and publishing platforms!"

Conservatives: "Alright"

Libs: https://t.co/3m0oQBGgmn pic.twitter.com/lIk2VkD5rT

— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) December 6, 2021

Think about it. These people colluded to ban the President of the United States from social media while Iran’s supreme leader still posts anti-Semitic tripe routinely. The Taliban are allowed to have Twitter accounts while mainline conservatives are kicked off the platform for uttering the basic truth that a man is not a woman. What did the left think was going to happen? That conservatives were going to just sit back and take it? That they wouldn’t grow their own sites and platforms to compete with the gatekeepers?

I guess this is a lesson in being careful what you wish for. When you spend years trying to silence others, insisting they find their own way, don’t be shocked when they outsmart and outcompete you.